J. K. Rowling’s recent announcement that the Dumbledore character from the Harry Potter series was gay surprised many longtime Potter fans, and even shocked a few reactionary-types. Nothing new there. But what, if any, is the significance of Dumbledore being gay?
The pundits have been considering this very question, with many of providing long-winded, and frankly laughable, diatribes about the significance of Dumbledore’s sexuality, especially following the Heroic death of the character in the final Harry Potter book of the series.
Some of the pundits found it interesting, or disturbing, that Ms. Rowling chose to “out” Dumbledore at a book reading at Carnegie Hall in New York, with thousands of children in the audience. And to many, the sudden explanation of Dumbledore’s back story seemed a bit too strategic — like an overly contrived plot twist.
Other columnist accused Rowling of cowardice by waiting until the series was complete to bother telling us an important characteristic of one of the main characters. Did Rowling simply omit this information in order to keep sales of the series robust? Given Rowling’s outspoken history, political viewpoints, and the fact that she is one of the wealthiest women in the world, I somehow doubt she withheld Dumbledore’s sexual preference out of greed.
But in the end, Rowland’s timing in revealing Dumbledore’s homosexuality probably has more to do with challenging readers, than increasing sales. The author is well-known to hold progressive and humane political views, and “outing” Dumbledore is simply an extension of her character, and a desire to an enlightened as well as entertain her audience.
Dumbledore is not the real issue here. The “real” issue is our friends, neighbors and coworkers who also happen to be gay. For example, does it matter that they are gay? Does it affect the way we interact with them in any way, or our respect for them as human beings or friends?
This, I think is the real point of JK Rowling’s decision to “out” Dumbledore. Did it affect his character in any way that he was gay? Does it change our understanding of the Harry Potter books because Dumbledore was gay? And finally, does it make us respect Dumbledore any less because of his sexuality?
The answer to all of these questions should be a resounding “no.” But the fact is, there are still places where it would matter if a friend, coworker, family member, or even fictional children’s book character was gay. And that is why Rowling had to do what she did. Dumbledore’s outing was a challenge to all of us to consider our own prejudices.
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